Gordhan and Ramaphosa tear into suspended SARS boss Moyane

Cyril and Pravin are not messing about.

After missed deadlines, delays and some chirping back and forth, an affidavit from Public Enterprise Minister Pravin Gordhan has torn into Tom Moyane. While there are four charges being made against Moyane, the allegations are well detailed over 69 pages.

Tom Moyane and the battle with President Ramaphosa

Moyane was suspended from SARS by President Cyril Ramaphosa back in March. Ramaphosa first asked him to resign, Moyane was not having it.

Moyane is accused of overseeing a “deterioration in public confidence in the institution” as well as letting public finances become compromised.

With Gordhan previously being Minister of Finance during parts of Moyane’s tenure, his affidavit reveals instances where the Minister had to step in to right Moyane’s wrongs.

Thr first charge against Moyane relates to “gross mishandling” of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) report. Director of the FIC, Murray Michell, wrote to Moyane and flagged “suspicious and unusual” cash deposits.

The deposits were made into the accounts of two SARS employees, one of them being the senior Jonas Makwakwa. Moyane committed to investigate the matter but Gordhan says he disclosed the report to the two implicated employees.

Gordhan says he was not briefed by Moyane.

“He failed to brief me, the executive authority responsible for SARS, on the FIC Report at all. He only issued Mr Makwakwa and Ms Elskie with notices of intention to suspend, four months after receipt of the FIC Report, and only after the contents thereof had become public on the front page of the Sunday Times,” Gordhan said in the affidavit.

Gordhan also took issue with unauthorised bonus payments approved by Moyane. According to the minister, he stepped in to inform Mr Moyane that the bonuses were in contravention of the SARS act.

The Auditor General agreed with Gordhan, therefore, Moyane was causing the organisation “reputational” damage.

Moyane is also accused of misleading Parliament as he answered a DA Parliamentary question with “factually incorrect” and “misleading” information. The suspended boss also allegedly instructed a SARS employee not to comply with a KPMG audit in 2015.